Ecosystem-based reservoir computing. Hypothesis paper

Journal article, 2025

Reservoir computing (RC) has emerged as a powerful computational paradigm, leveraging the intrinsic dynamics of complex systems to process temporal data efficiently. Here we propose to extend RC into ecological domains, where the ecosystems themselves can function as computational reservoirs, exploiting their complexity and extreme degree of interconnectedness. This position paper explores the concept of ecosystem-based reservoir computing (ERC), examining its theoretical foundations, empirical evidence, and potential applications. We argue that ERC not only offers a novel approach to computation, but also provides insights into the computational capabilities inherent in ecological systems and offers a new paradigm for remote sensing applications.